Dubai elevator groper claims victim is his wife

A Saudi visitor who allegedly molested an Ethiopian waitress of a hotel in the staff lift claimed that the woman is his wife, the Dubai Criminal Court heard.

The victim, BW, was in the staff lift on January 16 at around 10am when a Saudi national got into the lift and groped the woman’s breast. She tried to push him away but could no . He closed the lift’s door and came very close to the woman and tried to force her to drink from a cup of tea that he was holding in his hand. When the lift’s doors opened, she pushed him away and rushed to the security.

The issue was reported to the police who came and questioned YA, 42, who had been staying in the hotel since the beginning of the month.

The lift’s camera footage showed the man groping the waitress and then pushing her into the lift where he stood close to her and tried to force her to drink from a cup in his hand.

YA denied groping the victim and claimed that she is his wife whom he had married in the presence of witnesses who were currently in Saudi Arabia. However, YA failed to present any document to prove his claim.

The victim denied the accused’s claim of marriage to him. “I did not marry him and I do not know the people he is mentioning as marriage witnesses,” she told investigators.

The court will give its sentence on April 14.